harry potter

so i'm a little late, but i just started reading the harry potter series. i got through all six books in a week's time and am re-reading the latest book, "harry potter and the half-blood prince". i LOVE them!!!!

the notion that some people would ban these books from a library, whether school or public, irks me. these books, like any other escape fiction, are well written and intricate and are certainly not evil. having grown up in the bible belt, i know the arguments... i just think they are unnecessary in this case. i can understand restricting a book to adult access if it has some racy content or language or something obviously inappropriate for children... but there is nothing about the harry potter series that is bad for children to read. they get darker in plot as the books go on, but i don't think drama is a reason to ban a book.

anyhow.. . that's my rant for today.
click here if you want to support banned books week

real life

i read this very compelling quote by Tolstoy today:

"what people want is not that their consciousness should work correctly; it is that their actions should appear to them to be just. it is for this end that they use substances which disturb the correct working of their consciousness..... people smoke and drink not out of boredom or in order to cheer themselves up, not simply because they like it, but in order to suppress their conscience..... but this is just what happens in life when we intoxicate ourselves. life does not accord with our conscience, so we bend our conscience to fit life.... "

he goes on to say that we all face moral dilemmas in life and that more often than not, the dilemmas are difficult and painful to face. most of us, when faced with difficulty, whether physical (running the first mile of a 5K) or intellectual (math homework), would be more prone to give up and avoid the dilemma or questions we have and instead numb ourselves with something. tolstoy talks specifically about alcohol and smoking, but it could equally be shopping, listening to music without end, or pretty much anything.

it was a refreshing and personally motivating read... just to think about what issues i avoid in my life and that i need to face them so i can grow and move onward in life, in relationships and just in general. avoiding things just stunts our emotional and spiritual growth and makes us slaves to whatever our form of escape happens to be. i want to be a person that lives in freedom... the freedom of God, even if it is harder and it means dealing with stuff i'd rather avoid. the difficult road that brings beauty, freedom and fruit to my life is better than the easy road that keeps me drugged up so i can't feel the pain.

this was a good day... i'd been feeling a little dry and empty.
happy tuesday all!
sam

web updates and more

the "and more" was just a teaser to get you to read that i put new art up on the website! yay!

the thing i'm MOST excited about are my new dolls.
i was inspired by a friend in austin (ros!) to make dolls out of my characters and the first prototypes are in the art section under 3D media. they are sewn entirely by hand and made with lots of love. i also got to watch inordinate amounts of television when i made them, which, if you know me, is quite an anomaly from my normal routine... i watched the movie drumline (very entertaining!) and the re-run of the SNL with ashlee simpson (never gets old!). anyhow, the dolls are my new favorite thing...let me know what you think.


i'm in the process of trying to scan all my new "littles" (my small drawings/cartoons) into the computer so i can upload them. you can nag me to help speed it up if you want....but i promise, i'm working on it. :)

long time, no blog

i feel a little awkward with this whole blog thing. i wanted it to be a venue to talk about art and such, but i always feel a little self conscious publishing my thoughts on it as if they were worth reading. i can't tell you how many times i've typed up whole entries and deleted them because i felt embarrassed of it.

however, now i am feeling the equal pressure of a blog that goes unedited for months at a time and becomes equally as embarrassing as saying something stupid.

the hurricane has been on my mind a lot, as many people have been displaced to texas as a result. i'm questioning my whole life, the way i live and such... wondering if the things i have own me instead of the other way around. i feel like if i had less nice of stuff, letting people stay with me wouldn't be as much of a risk as i feel like it is. and i also worry about safety... like, am i supposed to just let anyone come stay with me? what can i actually do to help?

i'm feeling pretty confused about a lot lately. i'm questioning a lot of my life, my purpose, my mode of living, etc. i just wonder if the way i live matters more than i think... if my excuses for it are just that: excuses. i guess i just don't want to turn around and be facing a mid-life crisis and wondering why i didn't live better now.

i don't think there are answers for these kind of questions.. i think i just have to walk through it. and listen. i'm usually better at thinking a lot about things and not actually doing anything. i want that to change. i pray it does.

well there you go. lots of random thoughts and vulnerability.
happy thursday!
sam